Bittersweet
by DrgRcnGrl
Summary: "Think of it as something like this." The older woman pulled out one of the girl's father's sweets. "Multi-layered pretzel salty and chocolate. Do you know what this can represent?" "An overrated piece of candy?" "Love. Because, child, love is not always going to be sweet. And it is not always going to be bitter. Think of the experience as being bittersweet."
1. Chapter 1

The sun shone so brightly. It was just as I had remembered so many years ago, when I was a four foot tall eight year old. It seemed like such a long time ago. Was it really?

My father's words echoed in my head. 'Be sure to stop by the front office to pick up your school uniform. If you wish to make a good impression, the first step is to blend in with the student body. They will be more likely to take to you in a pleasant way.'

"Of course, Father," I murmured, a soft sigh escaping my lips. "Whatever you say."

The very idea that I was back home made my heart pound. I was back to where my friends had stayed for so long, and now they had probably changed. When has someone heard of keeping the same group of friends?

Besides that, at least I would not have to deal with them during the years of junior high. That would be absolute torture, no matter who you are or who your friends are.

In actuality, the school hallways seemed much smaller than they had been when I was just eight years old. It probably was the effect of me growing slightly taller since then. Nobody was in the halls, either. Was this an unscheduled school closure, like what they had in the United States when it was too cold or too much snow?

"Oh dear," I suddenly frowned. "Did I forget to wash my hair this morning? It probably smells like-" I wasn't even able to finish my own sentence to myself.

"Outta my way, excuse me, sorry!" a male voice yelled out. It didn't sound very deep at all, not like the matured males. Maybe it was an elementary student.

Quickly, I looked down, only to see it was a small boy who had ran at my side. My frown only deepened. "Excuse me-" I started.

The boy turned to face me, his lips covered in something brown. Chocolate maybe? "I'm so sorry, miss! I have to go!" he said rapidly, turning once more to dash away.

Without another word, he seemed to disappear. Was that a bunny that I saw tucked into the fold of his arm? Surely he was an elementary student.

I looked at my watch slowly. "Oh goodness, I'm going to be late!"

"Did you bring all of your books?" the headmaster, Suoh I believe his name was, asked me. He was sitting at a rather large desk, and it was extremely intimidating. Then again, weren't all headmasters and principals intimidating?

I nodded. "Yes, M- I mean, Suoh-San." It was difficult for me to mentally switch from American and British speech to Japanese once more. After seven years of speaking English, the transition was harder than I thought it would be.

He chuckled, folding his hands on top of the dark desk. "Of course you did. Were you not aware that your guardians were allotted an hour after the school day yesterday to pick up your school uniform?"

I frowned. "Oh... I'm sorry, Suoh-San. We weren't aware, and we spent the day unpacking after our flight."

He gave me an odd look. "I see. We can have you fitted for a uniform, but it will not be in for a few days because of lack of supplies. For now, there is a spare in the custodian's closet. Our student body president will show you where it is, and to the bathrooms so you can change."

That was a lot of information in just one breath.

A black haired male suddenly walked in. "Yes of course, Suoh-San. Right this way." He waved a hand in the air simply, as if I was a dog he was asking to follow him.

Was it just me, or is the Japanese population lacking in making small talk with newcomers?

It didn't seem that anybody had time for a new girl at school. Truthfully, they were more cold to me than the American and British schools I had been to. At least when I was at those other schools, the teachers made a point to introduce us. The Japanese professors decided that it was best to have us blend in and make us almost seem invisible.

Even though I had been to some of elementary school here, I knew nobody. They had all changed so much. I didn't recognize a single face, and if I did, they weren't who I remembered they were. Koshi was no longer a student here, neither was Akumi.

The lunch hour was uneventful, as I actually was surprised about. The lunch periods in America usually consisted of a group of females trying to either get a date to the next school dance or bully another girl. Instead of that lovely sight, it was rather boring.

Although, there was an odd group of different aged high schoolers all at the same table, the table next to mine.

"What is on tomorrow's agenda?" a blond male asked the rest of his table.

"What do you mean, don't you know?" the orange haired boy to his left asked.

"It's Haruhi's birthday!" the other orange haired boy said. His voice was just a tad bit lighter than the other one.

"Yeah, and that will be the theme for the club, won't it?" a bored looking black haired male said, taking a bite of his food.

"Of course it will be! My little girl is turning sixteen, and it will be the most grand club party of all!" the first blond exclaimed happily, his eyes shining in an odd way

"Senpai, I don't think that will be necessary," a brown haired boy said, shaking his head. "You don't need to throw me a party. My dad makes a big enough deal of it as it is."

Little girl. Then a boy answered. What is up with those people? There wasn't even a female at their table. Maybe it's a transgendered female turned male that still needs to get the looks and correct school uniform.

It was not my place to try to make conversation, so I just ate my food silently as I listened, only peeking looks every once in a while. I was trying my best to be subtle.

Soon enough, I caught the two orange haired twins looking over at me.

"Hey, who's that?"

"Yeah, she keeps looking at us."

The tall blond chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Of course she is. It isn't every day that a newcomer to this school feasts her eyes upon such beauty on their first day at a new school!"

Internally, I rolled my eyes. "Goodness, these people are so strange," I muttered to myself, turning away from them.

Before I knew it, two hands dropped on my shoulders. Two harmonic voices rang in my ears, "Don't we know you from somewhere? What's your name?"

I frowned, turning back to look up at the two orange haired twins. "I-" I stopped suddenly. I did know who they were. "Hikaru? Kaoru?"

"Elizabeth?" Hikaru murmured, raising an eyebrow.

The small blond boy's face formed into confusion. "Do you two know her?" he asked them. I instantly recognized his voice. He was the same male that had brushed past me just earlier. Was he really a high schooler? He was so small.

Hikaru spoke first, as he always did. "Didn't you have brown hair the last time we saw you?"

"Yeah, I thought you had darker hair than that," Kaoru said almost in unison to Hikaru.

I looked between them. They hadn't changed much, other than the fact that they were now so openly near other people. It seemed that they didn't mind being there at all. After a few seconds, I smiled. "It got lighter as I got older. And... Curlier."

The taller blond, what was his name, jabbed a finger in my direction. "It looks like commoner ramen!"

The odd brown haired shemale rolled her eyes, then looked at me with a small smile. "You used to know Hikaru and Kaoru?"

"I knew them in elementary school," I said in reply, shrugging. It didn't seem that it was really my place to be speaking to them. No other girls were, and they seemed to be their own little clique.

The tall blond suddenly grinned. "You knew them when they were in elementary? What were they like?"

Laughing softly, I said, "They were... I can't really remember, actually. It was a long time ago."

Hikaru waved a finger in front of my face. "You tried to get us to play with you."

"But we didn't let you because you couldn't tell which one of us was which," Kaoru said. If I even got their names right now, I would be surprised. It was all just a huge guess.

The two boys leaned their backs against each other. "So!" they said in unison. "Can you tell us which one is Hikaru and which one is Kaoru?"

I frowned. "Probably not."

"You're no fun!"

"Guys, you can't expect her to get it right on her first day," the shemale said, tugging them away from me. "Here, this one is Hikaru," she pointed to the twin on the left. "And this one is Kaoru."

My head slowly tilted. "How can you tell them apart so easily?" It was simple, but something about it made me think that they might have not wanted to be told apart when we were younger. Had their mindsets changed?

"Hikaru and Kaoru are two very different people," the shemale said a-matter-of-factly. "Hikaru is more headstrong and says what he thinks. Kaoru is softer, and usually acts a little more mature."

'That's a low blow to the older one,' I thought to myself with a small chuckle. "You seem like you say what you think as well... Sorry, but I didn't catch your name?"

The shemale laughed. "I'm Haruhi." Spoken in a more feminine type way...

A female name, no less.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" the tall flamboyant blond exclaimed. "Introductions! My name is Suoh Tamaki, class two-a. They are Morinozuka Takashi and Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Mori-Senpai and Hani-Senpai. Ootori Kyoya, in the same class as me, and you know the rest."

'Quite a diverse bunch of teenagers.'

"Eli-chan!" Hani-Senpai said happily, waving his toy bunny in the air. "Do you want to have some cake with me after school?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Sorry, Hani-Senpai... I have to help my mother with some new chocolate recipes after school. But I am free tomorrow."

His eyes suddenly widened. "You make sweets?"

"Of course," I smiled. "We don't own the Kyandi Colossal company for laughs. In fact, we deliver to somewhere here on these grounds... But I can't remember the name of who we sent everything to."

"That would be me," the dark haired boy with glasses said. "The Host Club is what you send to, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, actually. You're a host club?" I asked slowly, looking at all of them. There were not host clubs anywhere in America or England. I didn't remember one even being here at Ouran when I was a student here years ago. Maybe they changed that. "What exactly do you do?"

"Ha, she said do-do," Hikaru snickered, jabbing his younger brother in the arm with his elbow.

"No, I didn't," I said, keeping my tone light. "I said 'do you do', not... That other phrase."

Instead of giving me some sort of verbal reply, they stuck their tongues out at me. It made me laugh inside. Their maturity levels might not have risen in those years.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mother, I'm home!" I called, tossing my bag into the bottom of the closet just off the front hallway. "Where are you?" The house smelled faintly of chocolate, but not the same kind as it normally did. It smelled more bitter than the usual Meiji chocolate.

In coming back to Japan, we found out that our old estate had been bought out by a different family with four children. Father never discussed who they were, but all he made clear was that before we arrived to Japan, we needed to have a new estate built.

What made no sense to me was why we needed such a large home, and servants. It made absolutely zero sense, in fact. We are three people. Is it too hard to make dinner for three these days in Japan? How much have things changed?

"Miss Kyandi, you're home early," one of our maids commented, poking her head in the hallway from the kitchen. "Your mother is in the gardens right now. Do you want me to notify her of your arrival?"

I smiled at her and shook my head. "No thank you, Mao. What's she doing in the garden?"

"She didn't tell me, Miss Kyandi. I think she is planting more flowers, against your father's orders." As soon as the words left her lips, her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry. That was out of line to say. Please excuse me."

Before I could reply, she walked back into the kitchen without another word. Though she was a very careful young woman, she sometimes believed she said things that were unneeded. Even since knowing her for a few days, I imagined she would be a very loyal woman that my family would need in our lives.

The garden in the back of our estate was nothing too fancy. It was adorned with lilies and roses, and some simple flower species in between. Ever since she was a little girl, Mother had been in love with everything that this world had to offer. She loved the sweet smell the roses gave off.

I found her kneeling down by a wooden bench, her hands folded in her lap. She seemed to be praying.

"Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, o Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul," she whispered, pressing her forehead against the bench's dark wood.

If I hadn't known better, I would have tried to get her attention, but many years of living with her, I knew it was best to leave her in peace while she prayed. The last time I interrupted her prayers, she was afraid that the good Lord would not be with her that day. She grew up in a very Christian home in America.

I went back inside the house, only to find Mao washing the dishes. Smiling, I walked beside her and began to dry them.

Her eyes widened. "Miss Kyandi, you aren't supposed to be doing anything tonight!"

"It's not going to kill me to help out," I replied. "Father is still at work, I presume?"

Mao slowly nodded, pausing before giving me another reply. "He explained on his telephone that he was going to be late tonight, and for me to prepare dinner early."

"Ooh, what's for dinner?"

"I'm still deciding, Miss," she said, giving me a small smile. "What would your choice be between sashimi or soba and udon noodles?"

The mere mention of sashimi made me cringe. Fish is not my favorite. "Personally, I would prefer having the soba and udon noodles. What sauce would be served with them?"

"A smooth orange ginger, Miss Kyandi. Is that what you want for your dinner?"

"Yes please, Mao. Thank you."

Surprisingly enough, by the following day they had my new uniform. It was a yellow dress exactly like every other dress in the building. "I wish this thing was a little bit less... Poofy." It only looked good on girls with skinny waists. Definitely not me.

"It's been the same outfit for years," one of the twins, Hikaru I believe, commented beside me. "Since the school was founded those years ago."

"I thought that a dress code uniform was so that people who aren't as well off don't feel bad about not being able to afford certain clothing?" I frowned, crossing my arms. As I did so, the poofs at the shoulders got in my face. It almost blinded me.

The twins laughed. "You're the first girl to complain about it out loud."

I smiled. "Maybe because when I have something to say, if it's not repulsive or rude, I will say it." And if it won't disgrace my parents.

The classes of the day went by fast, and before I knew it, lunch hour was upon us once more. This time, I was invited to sit at the table where the six boys and Haruhi were sitting. I accepted the offer gratefully. It was nice to have people be so considerate. Not all people will welcome a new girl.

'Wow, the meals are more expensive today than I thought they would be...' I thought to myself, frowning. I had brought a meal from home yesterday, and hadn't even looked at the prices. Maybe it was a good idea that Father had linked a debit card to my personal school card.

"Elizabeth?"

I blinked a few times, looking over at my shoulder. It was Haruhi. "Yes?"

Her head tilted to one side. "Why were you staring at the lunch menu?"

It took me a few seconds to realize what she was talking about. "Oh! Sorry, I was just examining the prices."

"The prices? Why?"

"I didn't expect them to be so high, even at an elite school." What person would pay the equivalent of fifty American dollars for a single meal? "What parent in their right mind would allow their child to have to pay this amount of money for one meal, every day? And maybe even breakfasts at times?"

Kyoya-senpai shrugged. "It is not like we are on a tight budget. Nobody is, except for one."

Haruhi glared at him.

"Besides, why does it matter to you? You're not the one that has to pay for it," the twins said in complete unison, harmonizing with one another. It sounded nice, really. Almost soothing, in a cheeky and cheesy sort of way.

I shrugged. "True, but that doesn't mean that I like to flaunt my parents' money around every day at school just to eat a meal that I could have prepared by hand at home."

"You mean you have to make your own food at home?" Tamaki-Senpai said, sounding astounded. Astonished. "Are you a slave?"

It took all I had not to roll my eyes. Was he thick? "No, but I do enjoy cooking. Our maid might not enjoy me trying to help out, but it has to be hard sometimes to do all the work for a family of three. And a cat."

"But why do you like to do those things, Eli-Chan?" Huni-senpai asked me, his brown eyes large and filled with wonder.

How does one answer a question such as that? "Oh, I don't know... She is not as well off as I have been my whole life, and it isn't her fault. It's the least I can do to help her out a bit. After all she does for us, she deserves it."

Huni-Senpai smiled. "You must really like her a lot."

I opened my mouth to answer, but before any words left my mouth, the warning bell rang. "I'll see you guys in class, I think-"

"Remember to stop by the music room after school! You promised!" Tamaki-Senpai exclaimed as everybody unorderly filed out of the lunch hall.

When did I ever promise that? Oh well. It's not like I have much else to do after school.


	3. Chapter 3

The second full day of school seemed to be longer than my first day. It was actually not at all surprising. The same thing happened at all of the other old schools I went to, except for sometimes the statement was actually a legitimate issue of the second school day having a longer duration.

I looked up at the hallway, smiling softly to myself. They weren't a bad group of people, from what I could see. They were all so different, yet brought together for a similar cause that doesn't at all benefit them. At least, that's what I thought of it as.

"Music room number three, did they say?" I said softly, trying to read the signs. It was so difficult to transfer from English reading to Japanese symbols. "I swear that says 'three'... But is that a music room?"

I stopped at the door and carefully knocked. When no answer came, I slowly opened the door. Rose petals flew through the air as a blinding light hit my eyes. Before I could do anything or cover my nose, the sweet aroma of flowers hit my face like a blast of fresh flowery air. But not in a good way.

"Oh no! What's wrong, dear- It's Elizabeth!" Tamaki's voice cried.

"Is she allergic to the flowers or something?" somebody else said loudly. It was loud enough for me to hear, even through all of my terrible sneezing.

No, I'm just enjoying ejecting my lungs out of my nose. Excuse me while I enjoy the heck out of doing that. Maybe that's too harsh of thinking of me.

A hand patted my back, just hard enough to help me to stop coughing so hard. I didn't know who it was, but internally thanked them. It surely helped a little, if anything.

A different person stepped in front of me and covered my nose with a cloth. At least it didn't smell like chloroform. "Here, let's get you to the ladies' room-"

"You can't go in there with her! What if somebody sees you?" I heard Tamaki's voice say. At least, I thought it was Tamaki's voice.

"I am a girl, you know," Haruhi's voice said bluntly. "We'll just go in the one at the back of the club."

It was one of the most unique meetings of an after school club that I can ever say that I've had. I'll bet it's in the record books for them as well. Maybe.

A good ten minutes later, I got my face back to a more normal color. Being cherry red was not a good look for a girl like me with a chubby face and very light hair.

Haruhi looked at me with her head cocked to one side. "You feel better now?"

I nodded, smiling softly. How could you not smile? They were so genuinely nice. "Yes, thank you. Why do you carry face wipes with you?"

"You have to be prepared, I guess," she shrugged, shoving a small package back into her front pocket of her... It wasn't until then that I noticed she was not dressed in her school uniform, but instead an odd cloak. "It's got to be sad that you're allergic to flower pollen. Isn't it hard?"

"It isn't as hard as one would think, Haruhi," I replied easily. "I can handle a lot of flowers and plants, but some of them trigger my allergies more than others. Roses are usually okay, unless it's a season where there's a lot of pollen." Take now, for example. "So what's with all of the odd outfits?"

Haruhi sighed. "It's my birthday, so the guys decided to make it as special as possible against my will."

The twins looked over at us, I noticed out of the corner of my eye. They were both keeping an eye on me and on Haruhi. It seemed that they were very protective of her. In all of the classes that we were all in together, they tried to be as close to her as possible. It reminded me of how a brother would treat a younger sister.

In a way, it was very sweet to see.

"Whose phone is ringing?" Kyoya-Senpai said loudly, knocking me out of my thoughts.

It took me a few seconds to realize it was my own phone. I took it out of my pocket quickly and held it to my ear. "Hello, Elizabeth Kyandi speaking."

"This is the secretary for the Makoto Kyandi office," a woman's voice said through my speaker phone. The regular speaker didn't work, so it was always on speaker. "Kyandi Makoto-San wishes to have his daughter attend the upcoming board meeting in fifteen minutes."

"Could you repeat that, please?" I asked quickly, frowning.

"Your father wishes your presence at his board meeting in fifteen minutes, miss," the woman said, sounding less cheerful than before. Perhaps she was just having a very tiring day. "Your private chauffeur is waiting at the school grounds to retrieve you."

With no words of salutation, the woman hung up on me. My frown only grew as I put my phone back into my pocket. "That's odd..."

"Why does he want you to be at a meeting?" Hikaru, I believe it was him, asked me, one hand in his pocket. "Do you work for him or something?"

I shook my head. "I don't work for him, per say... I help with finding new recipes to use and making new sweet recipes, but that doesn't mean I should be at a meeting... I guess I'll be going then. Sorry."

I did feel bad for having to leave them. I promised them that I would be staying to see their club in action and maybe even participate in whatever they did.

Tamaki tilted his head downwards and slightly to the side, to the point where a strand of his blond hair was in front of his eyes. Maybe that was his way of being seductive or attractive. "Come see us during free period tomorrow."

"I will," I said with a firm nod. Father couldn't take away my time during free period that easily. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have a nice day!" As I left the room, I waved. Hoping that Father would be proud of how I acted.


	4. Chapter 4

The meeting was being held in the office building just west of the candy producing factory. It took longer than expected to drive there, and it was no surprise that I was two minutes late. To Father, though, two minutes was everything.

"I'm so sorry for being late," I said quickly as I rushed in. There was a man at a podium, a chart to his right, and he just gave me an odd look.

My father shook his head, his eyes gazing upon me in a disapproving manner. He didn't say anything to me.

As quickly as I could, I took my seat next to one of my father's longtime workers. He elbowed me slightly, but didn't speak a word as the man at the podium began again.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," the man at the podium said sternly in Japanese, "there has been a slight decrease in sales as of last month. We went from top sales in August to almost the lowest sales we have ever had. Does anybody want to explain why that is?" The man looked around the room, frowning at anybody who made eye contact with him.

A paper was slid into my hand. I looked over my right shoulder, only to see that the man next to me was eagerly paying attention to the lecture. It was almost like a college lecture, except for it was more intense and involved actual money.

'This may be a good time to bring up all of your ideas, chica.'

I frowned over a the man beside me. "Really?" I mouthed over to him, no sound escaping my lips.

He nodded, smiling, though he never looked at me directly. From an outsider's perspective I guess, it would seem he was paying full attention to the lecture. I never imagined that Francisco would be that type of man.

As soon as the man up front stopped talking, I raised my hand to speak. The man gave me an odd look, then nodded. "Yes, miss?"

"If I may," I started off slowly, "I would like to propose a new commercial item that may bring our stock prices up and that also may raise our sales." As I spoke, I felt my father's eyes burning into my skull.

The lecture man chuckled. "I highly doubt a female such as yourself would be capable in bringing our sales up to the point where we are no longer in financial crisis."

"Elizabeth, you have no place to speak here," my father's deep voice boomed throughout the room. "You must sit, watch, and listen."

I placed my palm against the table to force myself to sit up straighter, trying to meet his eyes. "I only-"

He slammed a fist down on the table. "Enough. You will be silent." The sound of his sharp voice made my blood run cold.

More than ever now did I struggle to look at him. "Yes sir," I said quietly, finally accepting that I wouldn't be able to look right at him.

"So, may I ask, why is your daughter here?" an odd man in the group asks. My father's eyes could have lasered a hole into the odd man's forehead. He had these wimpy flashy old styled glasses on. "If she isn't supposed to speak."

He is much odder than the lecture man.

"I agree," the lecture man said, drifting his attention over to my father.

"If she is going to be in the family business, then my daughter must see the business first hand; silently," my father said. "Without interruption to the business in hand."

The odd man frowned. "What if she has some mind-blowing idea that none of us would have conjured up, one that has the possibility to bring our sales through the roof?"

"She does not have any such idea," Father said sternly. "End of this discussion. Koshi, continue."

The lecturing man, Koshi as Father had said, then continued to speak of many different variables and numbers as to why the company was losing sales. Most of which involved our company's long time rival, Moringana. Their advertisements are superior to ours, and it is no surprise that they have surpassed us.

"Their latest advertisement involved lying about how they use their funds from the public," he said loudly. "They falsely claim that they give fifteen percent to the JACO foundation, though when the numbers were ran, no more then a mere seven percent is eligible for charity."

"They probably don't even notify the public of that!" a man shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "Should we try suing them for advertisement fraud?"

'That would be a wasteful thing to do,' I thought to myself. 'What are they thinking? Have they really resorted to stooping so low?'

I nudged Francisco beside me. He gave me an odd look. At seeing the look, I mouthed, 'Oppose it.'

With no hesitation, he raised his hand. "That does not sound like a very pleasing idea. In fact, it may very well have the opposite effect we are trying to achieve."

My father's eyebrows raised. "How so?"

For a split second, Francisco looked at me before he turned back to my father. "It may appear, at least in the public's eyes, that we are attempting to rob a neighboring company of their sales. It will make them view us as weak, incapable of producing our own success."

Father shook his head firmly. "That is very incorrect. We have very well established our own success in the past-"

"And yet, we have lost it to a mere chocolate making company that is catering to the childish needs of the lesser population," he retorted. "Can you explain why that is?"

The nostrils on my father flared. "You have no right to speak to me that way, Francisco-San. If you wish to keep your current occupation, you will speak when spoken to only."

Koshi-san, the lecturing man, turned from facing the board to face my father. He was frowning. "If I may, Akuma-San, ask why you are acting so harshly?"

"I am not acting harshly!" he roared, before taking a total turn to the calm side of things. "I am perfectly fine. Will we proceed with the topic and business at hand, Onegaishimasu?"

It took me a few seconds to realize that for once, my father used the word please. It was so odd for him to say that word. Has it ever left his lips before?

"Yes, Akuma-San," Koshi-San sighed and began again, talking about his calculations on sale rates. "As I was saying..."


End file.
